Cycling Notebook: Whaley leaves slow start behind

Published 6:30 am, Thursday, January 12, 2006

After his first race, Houston's Al Whaley put his bike in the garage and didn't look at it, let alone ride it, for two weeks.

Whaley got his start in cycling by riding the 1988 MS 150. He learned about the bike tour from a couple of running buddies and decided he would give it a shot. Despite encountering windy and rain-soaked conditions on day two of the event, Whaley had a great ride and was well on his way to exchanging running for cycling on a full-time basis.

Bump in the road

Fresh off the encouraging MS 150 experience, Whaley thought he would move up to racing. His first race didn't go quite as well as his first tour. He finished last.

"When the race started, I couldn't get my foot in the pedal and then I looked up and the whole field was 200 yards in front of me," Whaley said. "I never caught 'em. I was devastated. I learned right then that racing was a whole different ballgame."

However, after two weeks of confining his bike to the garage, Whaley decided the $500 ride was too expensive to mothball.

"I started riding with a group of guys in The Woodlands, who were stronger riders than I was," he said. "And what I learned was riding with guys who are stronger and above your ability makes you stronger and faster. From that point on, I started doing better in races."

Considerably better, actually. Whaley went on a three-race winning streak, ascended to the ranks of a licensed racer and continued to pedal at the front of the pack.

Another turning point in his cycling career came in 1992, when a friend suggested Whaley get on the track. He wanted no part of it.

"There was no way I was doing that," he said. "These bikes don't have gears and they don't even have brakes."

However, Whaley soon relented. For his introduction to the track, he was timed in a 200-meter sprint. He just about set the track on fire with a clocking of 12.01 seconds — on the doorstep of world class.

While Whaley might not have realized it at the time, that moment was the beginning of what would be a tremendous track-racing career. If there was a championship to be won, Whaley won it. He won Texas titles, national crowns and world championships.

His victory at the 1995 Olympic Festival stands out as one of his most significant wins. Whaley had dislocated a bone in his arm just weeks before the meet and qualified well behind the favorites. Undeterred, Whaley used the injury and low seeding as motivation and went on to win by one one-hundredth of a second.

As he gets ready to embark on his 15th year of track racing, Whaley, 45, does so as one of the most decorated masters racers in the country. He has won 12 world championships and holds four world records, and though he's at an age when many athletes begin to think about slowing down, he has no plans to exit the fast lane.

"Racing is still a joy to me," he said. "I like the challenge of it."

This year, he will take aim at another world title and also take time to share his passion for the sport. He's often asked to speak to youngsters about his cycling exploits and gladly accepts every invitation.

"It's a way for me to share my success," he said. "If my story can help inspire just one kid to achieve something in his life, then I've had an impact."

MS 150: No more room

If you were planning on riding in April's BP MS 150 but haven't registered yet, plan on waiting until next year.

The popular two-day bike tour from Houston to Austin is sold out. The Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which runs the event, closed registration last Friday when the field reached its limit of 13,000 cyclists.

The annual ride reached its registration cap more than a month earlier than it did in 2005. Organizers instituted a participation limit last year as a way of ensuring the safety of the tour and keeping the event as manageable as possible.